This past year has been one of the most memorable of my life for many reasons, one of them being the abundance of amazing entertainment in the horror genre. Thanks to great movies, books, podcasts, performances and more, I'll always look back at 2015 fondly.
Archie vs. Predator: Riverdale is one of the last places in comic books that you’d expect to find a character’s decapitated head stuffed into a vending machine, but anything goes in Dark Horse’s four-part Archie vs. Predator series. Author Alex De Campi expertly intertwines humor with horror in this limited series about a teenaged Predator looking to add Archie and the gang to its kill list, making for one of my most enjoyable paneled-paged reading experiences of the year. A must-read for longtime fans of both the Archie and Predator franchises, this blood-splashed story is funny, fierce, and surprisingly heartfelt.
It Follows: Soaked in an ’80s-esque synth score (courtesy of Disasterpeace) and featuring one of the most simple yet unsettling horror movie antagonists I’ve encountered on the big screen, David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows had me yearning for an encore the second the end credits came to a close. I’m not sure which I love more: the zombie-like relentlessness of the supernatural entity or the pitch-perfect performances by Maika Monroe and Keir Gilchrist. Draped in a dreamlike atmosphere, It Follows takes place in the type of sinister suburbia that Freddy Krueger would sink his claws into, but there's no need for the boogeyman to appear in this story, as Mitchell’s movie is a haunting nightmare all its own.
The Horror Show with Brian Keene: For years, author Brian Keene has shared stories about being a horror author that are scary enough to send shudders down aspiring writers’ spines. Some of his adventures in the world of professional writing are more disturbing than even the creepiest campfire tales. Combined with an uncompromising, unfiltered, take no prisoners voice, Keene’s vast knowledge of horror publishing’s past, present, and future has always kept me coming back to his website for more haunting stories about what it really takes to hit the keyboard for a living.
So when Keene announced that he would be doing a weekly podcast with Dave "Meteornotes" Thomas (as well as occasional co-hosts Geoff Cooper and Phoebe), I knew it would be required listening. I was not disappointed. This first year of The Horror Show with Brian Keene has supplied me with countless book recommendations, writing tips, amazing anecdotes, and insightful guest interviews with a wide range of writers. I can’t wait to hear what Brian and Dave have to say in 2016.
King Falls AM: Another awesome assault on my ears this year was King Falls AM. A late-night (or early morning, depending on how you look at it) radio talk show hosted by Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold, King Falls AM keeps listeners up to date on the latest eerie occurrences in one of America’s strangest small towns.
A large number of intriguing subjects are discussed, including an unnerving alien abduction, the journey to a gateway to hell, and the ghosts of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth battling one another at the local library (run by the wonderful Emily Potter). The only thing I enjoy more than the show's Night Vale meets Eerie, Indiana vibe is the brilliant back-and-forth banter between Sammy and Ben. Here’s hoping Mayor Grisham doesn’t stop the dynamic duo from having another great on-air year in 2016.
A Head Full of Ghosts: When I’m reading a really great book, I forget that I’m actually reading a book. The story is absorbed instead of read, and I never want it to end. That’s how I felt while experiencing Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts. The novel follows the Barrett family, a New England nuclear unit that comes under serious strains when fourteen-year-old Marjorie starts acting strangely, her behavior becoming increasingly aggressive and frightening to her family—especially her younger sister Merry—as days go by.
It's determined that either Marjorie has a mental illness... or she is possessed. Thinking it’s the latter, Marjorie’s dad enlists the help of Father Wanderly, who believes an exorcism is the cure for what ails Marjorie, and who also thinks it is wise to bring in a television crew to film it. And so the Barrett family’s woes turn into a reality TV show called The Possession. The cameras roll, capturing Marjorie’s worsening condition and the further fragmentation of her family. But is Marjorie really possessed by a demon? Is she instead suffering from acute schizophrenia, or has she been putting on a show the entire time?
There are many ways to interpret what is actually happening within the pages of Tremblay’s novel, but one thing most readers will agree on is that several scenes in the book are scary as hell, with Marjorie haunting her little sister in more ways than one, including creepy nighttime visits and a story time session that takes a terrifying turn. Even more unsettling, however, is Tremblay’s depiction of family dysfunction seen through the eyes of the family’s youngest member. These eerie elements—along with Tremblay’s potent commentary on reality TV and enough horror movie references for two thesis papers—make A Head Full of Ghosts a wickedly smart, thought-provoking novel that wriggles into your brain for a good, long stay.
John Karna in Scream: The TV Series: Being a huge fan of the Scream film franchise, I was a bit apprehensive about a TV series adaptation setting up shop on MTV. Thankfully, my fears were mostly subdued after binge watching the first season. Rather than retread the movies, the series carves its own path in a new town (Lakewood) with a fresh set of characters at risk of being bludgeoned, stabbed, and otherwise having their day (or life) ruined by a masked slasher.
Out of all the people populating the self-aware series, Noah Foster (John Karna) soon became my favorite, stealing many scenes with his Randy Meeks-esque knowledge of horror movies and his willingness to call out himself and his group of friends when they did something dangerous (such as splitting up to explore an abandoned bowling alley).
Karna brings an essential comedic element to Scream: The TV Series, and he adds some heart-wrenching character development to the blood-stained table as well. His witty conversations with best friend Audrey Jensen (played by the excellent Bex Taylor-Klaus from The Killing) made me want to press the “Play” button on each consecutive episode. Plus, Karna's character gets bonus points for mentioning that he wanted to go as The Babadook in the series’ Halloween episode.
The Walking Dead: Season 5, Episode 14 – “Spend”: Masterfully directed by Jennifer Lynch, the fourteenth episode of The Walking Dead’s fifth season takes place not long after Rick Grimes and his group enter Alexandria for the first time. Packed with grit and gore, this episode featured two of the series’ most intense death scenes, the latter of which packed an emotional wallop that had me staring slack-jawed at the screen after the final frame.
In addition to this installment’s emotional heft, it also features one of my favorite scenes from the entire series: Abraham’s (Michael Cudlitz) construction yard fight against a wave of the living dead. Abraham's slow, steamy exhalation right before going into battle perfectly symbolized his anxiety about being back outside the walls so soon after finding salvation. And then viewers got to hear him say "mother dick" before cutting to commercial—a priceless moment in Walking Dead history. As a whole, “Spend” sits comfortably in my top three favorite Walking Dead episodes ever.
Bone Tomahawk: Put Kurt Russell in a movie and I’ll watch it. Put Kurt Russell in his first Western since 1993’s Tombstone and I’ll put it at the very top of my to-do list. Throw cannibals into the mix and add Matthew Fox to the cast and I’ll throw money at that movie in a heartbeat. Such was the case with S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk, a slow-burn story with well-developed characters and an unflinching approach to violence. Featuring one of the most disturbing death scenes I’ve ever laid eyes on and what I believe is an Oscar-worthy supporting performance by Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk is easily my favorite film of the year.
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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